Renaissance architecture and interior design was characterized above all by a revival of the architectural features and styles of Imperial Rome. As an interest in the classical world spread northward throughout the learned society of Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, architects and classical scholars studied and eventually began to mimic the remaining ruins of the Roman Empire. Though they “posed as imitators of the ancients,”1 however, early modern architects were also innovators. They created new types of buildings like urban palaces, theaters, and concert spaces. During this time, the structure of the home also transformed dramatically; middle- and upper-class urban homes developed from one- or two-room dwellings attached to shops into detached properties with separate functional rooms like parlors and individual bedrooms. At almost every socio-economic level, therefore, early modern people were finding new ways to transform the architectural spaces around them.2
The new idealized styles of the 15th and 16th centuries were concerned primarily with proportion, symmetry, geometry, and order.3 These qualities provided more than simple visual appeal. In fact, the greatest architectural projects of the early modern era – the urban palaces of the Medici family, the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica, the re-design of the medieval city of Paris by King Henry IV, the concentric canals of Amsterdam – were all funded by powerful individuals and governments who believed that orderly architecture would foster an orderly population. Geometrically-proportioned architecture, particularly in government buildings and palaces, promoted an image of power which was regulated, methodical, and in harmony with natural law.4 By contrast, Renaissance artists were also fascinated by ruins, which indicated precisely the opposite qualities and, where they appeared in Renaissance art, often indicated moral, social, or economic decay.
This series of resources combines architectural renderings, design sketches, stage sets, and drawings of interior spaces, as well as a selection of photographs of Renaissance-era buildings. It represents the broad range of early modern conceptions of architecture and interior design across Western Europe.
Sources:
[1] Georges Gromort. Italian Renaissance Architecture. Translated by George F. Waters. London: J. Tiranti & Co. 1922.
[2] Christopher Friedrichs. The Early Modern City, 1450-1750. London: Longman, 1995.
[3] Jacob Burckhardt. The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance. Chicago: Edited by Peter Murray. University of Chicago Press, 1985.
[4] Josef Konvitz. Cities & the Sea: Port City Planning in Early Modern Europe. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1978.
Italian Street Scene for Theatrical Set engraving on paper 11 1/16 in x 16 7/16 in (28.1 cm x 41.75 cm);18 in x 22 in (45.72 cm x 55.88 cm) Museum purchase for the Paul Leroy Grigaut Memorial Collection
Francesco Galli Bibiena Stage Set: A Street Bordered by Palaces pen and brown ink with ink wash 10 11/16 in. x 16 3/4 in. ( 27.2 cm x 42.6 cm ) Museum Purchase
Luigi Canonica Scenographic Design pen and brown ink with brown wash and blue watercolor 12 5/16 in. x 9 1/8 in. ( 31.3 cm x 23.2 cm ) Purchased from the Estate of Edward Sonnenschein
Luigi Canonica Scenographic Design pen and brown ink with brown wash and green watercolor 12 1/4 in. x 9 1/4 in. ( 31.1 cm x 23.5 cm ) Purchased from the Estate of Edward Sonnenschein
Giuseppe Valeriani Stage Set: A Palace Hall with a Doorway pen and brown ink with ink wash on paper 13 15/16 in. x 13 7/16 in. ( 35.4 cm x 34.2 cm ) Museum Purchase
Lorenzo Quaglio, The Elder Stage Design: A Garden Setting pen and gray ink with watercolor on paper 19 in. x 34 5/8 in. ( 48.3 cm x 88 cm ) Museum Purchase
Italian Stage Design: A Loggia Near a Fortress pen and brown and black inks with gray ink wash on paper 9 13/16 in. x 14 1/2 in. ( 24.9 cm x 36.8 cm ) Museum Purchase
Stage set design amplified and idealized the early modern obsession with classical design, creating dramatic settings for 16th and 17th century performances of classical or classically-inspired stories. Early modern set designers, like the ones showcased in this collection, were interested in creating spaces which would give great visual depth to each scene and frame dramatic action with impressive, almost otherworldly grandeur.